‘How to relocate a conference at short notice...’

Medical Image Computing & Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI)

BY INCON PARTNER: DEKON GROUP

INTRODUCTION

The annual MICCAI conference attracts world leading biomedical scientists, engineers, and clinicians from a wide range of disciplines associated with medical imaging and computer assisted intervention. The conference series includes three days of workshops, tutorials, oral presentations and poster sessions.

MICCAI 2016, the 19th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, was initially to be held in Istanbul, Turkey. However a terrorist attack in the city left INCON Partner DEKON Group, tasked with moving the conference to a different city with as little disruption as possible.

WHAT IS MICCAI?

The MICCAI Society was formed as a non-profit corporation in 2004.  The official corporate name is The Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Society ('The MICCAI Society').

The history of the Society dates from the early 1990s when three international conferences eventually evolved into a single conference in 1998, and was named the MICCAI (Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention) Conference.

VISIT EVENT SITE: MICCAI 2016 CONFERENCE →

DEKON’S SOLUTIONS

1/3. CONTINGENCY PLAN:

The original venue for the conference in Istanbul had already been confirmed with a significant down payment. All parties preferred keeping the event in Istanbul, however DEKON began the necessary research for alternative destinations to hold the conference. DEKON found a venue in Athens which provided availability for the scheduled conference dates and could accommodate the conference room needs, including one main auditorium for 1000 delegates and 13 breakout rooms with a capacity of 50-150 for all the workshops. DEKON together with the client conducted a site inspection in Athens and made optional reservations for venues and hotels.

2/3. MONITORING THE SITUATION:

DEKON was constantly monitoring the situation in Istanbul and reporting back to the client. After the March 2016 terrorist attacks occurred, the client requested that the contingency plan be enacted.

3/3.  ENACTING THE CONTINGENCY:

Once the client decided to move the conference, DEKON immediately announced the relocation via all conference communication channels. The new venue was confirmed and all updated details were disseminated to all delegates and stakeholders. With five months before the event,  DEKON were able to provide a seamless experience and MICCAI were able to achieve their attendance goal before the location change.

“Our journey to Athens has been somehow quite challenging although could have been far more complex without the continuous support of DEKON, who did an amazing job relocating the conference from Istanbul to Athens in a very smooth and professional manner.”

– Sebastien Ourselin, General Chair, MICCAI 2016

ABOUT INCON PARTNER

For more than 25 years, DEKON Group has been organising meetings of all sizes. DEKON’s clients are global, regional and local associations and corporations, medical and technical societies, NGOs, NPOs and IGOs.

Besides conferences, DEKON Group also offers Association Management and Destination Management services with a specialised division to organise Protocol Meetings such as big UN Summits or governmental meetings.

DEKON Group has for many years been ISO certified; a member of ICCA; IAPCO; AMCI; the Istanbul and Izmir Convention Bureaus; and a founding member of the Turkish Business Council of Sustainable Development Association.

Find out more: DEKON GROUP →

ABOUT INCON

INCON is a global partnership of trusted conference and association management companies, whose unique collaboration results in the design and delivery of innovative and impactful client events. INCON Partners operate in over 170 destinations from over 81 global offices with a staff of 3,500 employees spread throughout the world.

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